Amazon Layoffs: Employees Fired Through Early-Morning Text Messages
Amazon has begun laying off employees whose roles have become redundant, with the process drawing attention due to the manner of notification—two early-morning text messages sent to affected staff.
Key Takeaways:
- Amazon is laying off over 14,000 employees globally
- Affected employees received two early-morning text messages about termination
- Over 78% of those laid off were managers
- Employees will receive 90 days of full pay and benefits
The Text Message Notification Process
According to a Business Insider report, affected Amazon employees received two text messages informing them about their termination. One message instructed employees to check work or personal email before coming to the office, while the second directed them to call a help desk if they hadn’t received “an email message about your role.”
The purpose of the text messages was to ensure laid-off employees wouldn’t arrive at the office and find their access badges deactivated.
Management Roles Heavily Impacted
Business Insider’s review of internal documents detailing approximately 7,500 employees who received layoff notices revealed that over 78% of those affected were managers at levels five to seven—positions ranging from junior to senior management.
The report also showed that more than 80% of impacted staff worked in Amazon’s retail division, including e-commerce, human resources, and logistics teams.
Compensation and Benefits Package
According to Chief HR Beth Galetti’s blog post, terminated employees will receive full pay and benefits for the next 90 days, including a severance offer.
Galetti mentioned that Amazon will continue hiring in key strategic areas while identifying additional opportunities to “remove layers, increase ownership and realize efficiency gains.”
In her blog post, Galetti emphasized that the “world is changing quickly” and described AI as “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” enabling companies to “innovate much faster than ever before.”
